{"id":109,"date":"2026-05-20T16:39:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=109"},"modified":"2026-05-20T16:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:39:52","slug":"memphis-is-under-full-blown-occupation-by-ice-heres-why-you-may-not-know-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingandmortgagehub.com\/?p=109","title":{"rendered":"Memphis Is \u201cUnder Full-Blown Occupation\u201d by ICE. Here\u2019s Why You May Not Know That."},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u2019s a massive<\/span> immigration operation in Memphis right now, but you may not have heard about it. It certainly hasn\u2019t gotten as much attention as past surges in Chicago or Minneapolis\u2014even though it\u2019s been going on since September.<\/p>

Read more The \u201cMessy\u201d Plaintiffs Behind So Many Anti-Abortion Lawsuits<\/a><\/p>\n

Hunter Demster, who runs a soup kitchen in the city, has been trying to get the word out. He often drives around with his phone, looking for officers to film as they arrest immigrants. There are more than 2,700 officers stationed in the city as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force; some are from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); others are from other law enforcement agencies and the National Guard. None particularly want to be photographed.<\/p>\n

Which means that Demster is facing blowback for trying to document them. So are other community members doing the same thing. Officers have taunted them, shined bright lights at them, and followed them in their cars. One community member was assaulted and jailed for trying to film. Now, they\u2019re suing, with help from the ACLU, which argues that agents are engaged in a pattern of intimidation and retaliation that hampers their First Amendment rights to record the police. <\/p>\n

The lawsuit was filed last week against leaders of the task force, and it\u2019s a harrowing read\u2014dozens of pages of examples. Demster, for one, recalls an officer driving quickly as he stood in a parking lot and then swerving toward him, missing him by inches. Another plaintiff was \u201cbumper-rushed\u201d by police while driving\u2014they came up behind him so quickly that it appeared a collision was imminent, before hitting the brakes at the last second.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s retaliation,\u201d Demster told me of the various incidents. \u201cAnd for what? Holding a phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plaintiff Jessica Chodor was tackled by a task force officer when she tried to film a traffic stop; she was held down and an officer threatened to tase her before taking her to jail. (The charge against her, \u201cresisting official detention,\u201d was later dropped.) Demster says agents sometimes sit in their vehicles outside his house. \u201cIt\u2019s terrifying to have to be on guard 100 percent of the time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The case in Memphis also challenges Tennessee\u2019s Halo Law, which criminalizes anyone who gets within 25 feet of an officer after they\u2019ve been warned to step away. Task force agents are invoking the law against observers who are not interfering, and sometimes forcing them back even farther than required so they can no longer see or hear. \u201cIt unconstitutionally burdens people\u2019s ability to engage in gathering information and recording what task force agents are doing,\u201d ACLU attorney Scarlet Kim told me.<\/p>\n

A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson said in a statement that the agency \u201cwill not tolerate any action that puts our law enforcement officers at risk.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Black Lung Surges in Coal Country as Trump Slow-Walks Protections<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe strongly disagree with the allegations in the lawsuit and remain committed to fair, impartial, and professional law enforcement practices to keep Memphians and the American people safe,\u201d it noted.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, the DHS has been sued in multiple cities for allegedly harming protesters and community observers during surges; a case in the Chicago area was dropped by the plaintiffs after Operation Midway Blitz ended, but others in Los Angeles and Minneapolis are ongoing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to overstate how big the Memphis Safe Task Force presence felt early on. It began in September, and when I visited the city in November, I was shocked by the number of law enforcement vehicles I saw. I talked with immigrant families who were afraid to leave their homes for work or to bring their kids to school. Even US citizens carried their passports around. Many described the city as a war zone, as I reported at the time.<\/p>\n

The surge has not gotten much national attention in part because Tennessee\u2019s Republican governor supports it\u2014he has said it will continue indefinitely. And the Trump administration has framed it not as an immigration crackdown, which would get a lot of press coverage, but as a crime crackdown. (Task force officers from other agencies are arresting people primarily for traffic violations and crimes, but they call DHS officers when they encounter immigrants.)<\/p>\n

Demster also believes Memphis has yet to grab the nation\u2019s attention because people like him who want to get the word out are facing retaliation. It\u2019s all part of the task force\u2019s plan \u201cto operate in the shadows,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Chodor, the woman assaulted while trying to observe, no longer goes out to film as much as she used to, and when she does, she stays in her car unless there are other observers on the scene. \u201cMy family still has a lot of fear and worryanytime I leave the house alone,\u201d she told me.<\/p>\n

Demster continues to press record whenever he gets a chance. \u201cWe are under full-blown occupation and immigrants are going missing,\u201d he says. \u201cNo one should fear their government for holding a phone.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Minnesota Is Doing What the Federal Government Won\u2019t: Holding ICE Accountable<\/a><\/p>\n

Correction: An earlier version misspelled Jessica Chodor.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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